Harry Kane Ends England’s 25-Year Ballon d’Or Wait After 61-Goal Season

• Harry Kane, 33, has won the Ballon d’Or at a ceremony in London, the first English winner after Michael Owen in 2001.
• Kane scored 61 goals in 51 matches for Bayern Munich last season, the most any Bayern player has scored in one campaign, and 73 in 65 matches including England.
• Thomas Tuchel said he was “delighted”, and Prince William called Kane a “brilliant captain” and “remarkable player”.

England’s 25-Year Wait Is Over

Harry Kane has been crowned the best player in the world. The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker won the Ballon d’Or at a ceremony in London on Monday night, the first Englishman to take the award since Michael Owen in 2001. Real Madrid and France forward Kylian Mbappe finished second, and Barcelona and Spain attacker Lamine Yamal completed the top three.

Kane is the fifth Englishman to win the trophy. Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) are the others, along with Owen. Scotland’s Denis Law (1964) and Northern Ireland’s George Best (1968) are the other winners from the United Kingdom. To mark the win, the Wembley arches were lit up in gold on Monday night.

“Me Against My Own Mind”

Kane told Dazn the result was not one he expected. “Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn’t have thought I’d be this far,” he said.

He looked back at the early years of his career. “I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career. I was never the person that people thought was going to be the superstar like some of the guys now.”

“I had to bide my time and work hard, a lot of times it was me against my own mind and I had to come through it, I had to show self-belief, determination,” Kane said. “I think that grounded me even when I did make it at the highest level to keep improving and keep getting better.”

England manager Thomas Tuchel said he was “delighted” to see Kane win and described the award as a “huge honour”. Prince William called the former Tottenham Hotspur player a “brilliant captain” and “remarkable player”.

The Numbers Behind the Award

Kane scored 61 goals in 51 club matches last season, the most a Bayern player has ever struck in a single campaign. Including England matches, he reached 73 goals and eight assists in 65 matches. Only one player at a club in Europe’s top five leagues has ever scored more in a season.

His 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern were 19 more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues managed. It was the highest total in 11 years, when Cristiano Ronaldo also scored 61 for Real Madrid. Kane topped the Bundesliga scoring chart with 36 goals, 17 clear of anyone else, and added 14 in the Champions League for the beaten semi-finalists.

He scored 10 goals in the German Cup, including a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Stuttgart in the final, and one more in the German Super Cup. His 12 goals for England last season included six at the World Cup. Kane’s previous best Ballon d’Or finish was 10th.

Kane lifted the German double last season, which more than doubled his career trophy total, and he had won the Bundesliga the year before. He lost in the semi-finals of both the World Cup and the Champions League. He is the first Bayern player to win the Ballon d’Or after Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.

What the Pundits Said Before the Vote

Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Sport before the ceremony: “The winner of the Ballon d’Or should be Harry Kane. His numbers for the last 12 to 18 months have been absolutely sensational for Bayern and for England. For that reason, he should get it.”

Another ex-England player, Danny Murphy, said: “His goalscoring has been relentless, brilliant. He’s had one of the best seasons of his career and it’ll be a great reward for him if he gets the trophy.”

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

More articles by Jarrod →